If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

imported post

City attorney says rules put police in 'horrible situation'
By Tim Hrenchir
Created March 9, 2010 at 11:13pm

Updated March 10, 2010 at 12:45am

Current city rules allowing for the open carry of firearms put police in a "horrible situation" if they see someone toting a handgun or scoped rifle in public, assistant city attorney Kyle Smith told the Topeka City Council Tuesday evening.

Police could subject the city to civil liability if they stop such a person without reasonable suspicion that they have committed a crime, Smith said.

But the failure to stop such a person could bring tragic consequences, he also said.

"Maybe they're going to kill 15 people," Smith said.

. . .

Dozens of opponents watched from the audience in council chambers, including Earl McIntosh, a retired Marine and co-founder of Open Carry Topeka, a group he said was formed late last year when it become apparent that open carry rights in Topeka were under threat.

McIntosh contended Miller and Smith resorted to using "scare tactics" to try to garner support for the proposal.

. . .

Councilman Bob Archer told Miller he liked dealing with facts more than "what ifs" and asked about specific situations. Miller described two.

One involved a person who was walking on the Kansas Avenue Bridge carrying a scoped rifle and another involved a man who intentionally walked in southwest Topeka's Clarion Woods neighborhood wearing a green reflective vest and holstered gun while walking a dog and carrying a video camera. Miller said that man was seeking attention and got it from police, who talked with him and allowed him to continue because no law had been broken.

McIntosh said he was that man. He said his walk in Clarion Woods had been targeted at educating the public about city rules allowing for open carry.

imported post

Perhaps people in Kansas are different from people in other states, such as Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire and the Commonwealths of Virginia and Pennsylvania (just to name a few)?

People in the other sovereigns have no significant problems with people OCing; it's done all the time. No blood flowing in the streets, shoot-outs at street corners or significant losses of life over fender benders.

I took my wife and son to a nice restaurant (no plastic cutlery) the other day while OCing. Nobody ran screaming from the establishment, SWAT teams weren't called in, nor did bullet holes suddenly appear in the ceiling or floor. It was an uneventful day.